WA electrical substation set on fire in fourth Christmas Day attack on local power grid

A fire broke out at a Puget Sound Energy substation in Graham, Washington, late Sunday, the fourth such power facility vandalized on Christmas Day in south Pierce County.

Another PSE substation was hit by vandalism earlier Sunday, as were two Tacoma Public Utilities facilities, leaving more than 14,000 customers without power, including in Graham and Elk Plain, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. Equipment was damaged in each incident.

In a statement Sunday, TPU said that the attacks occurred after federal law enforcement officials warned earlier this month of a possible threat to the local electric grid. The Sheriff’s Department was investigating.

In an interview Monday, Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Darren Moss said there was nothing new to report on the ongoing probe, including whether the destruction of property was believed to be a coordinated effort to disrupt power, the work of a would-be thief or something else.

It also was unclear whether the incidents were linked to similar occurrences in Washington and Oregon.

“We don’t have any solid information right now saying, ‘Oh, it’s this group for this reason’ or anything like that,” Moss said. “We’re not going to jump the gun and call it something until we know that we have concrete evidence.”

Authorities were notified of the attack on the substation at 14320 Kapowsin Highway E. at 7:21 p.m., the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Sunday. The department said at the time that “the fire was started intentionally.”

Moss clarified Monday that while vandalism to the facility caused the fire, it was unclear whether the blaze was purposeful.

County firefighters and Puget Sound Energy workers responded to the scene, and the fire was extinguished. Authorities described the incident as a burglary, as they had with the others, although Moss said nothing was reported taken.

He explained that each incident fit the essence of a burglary, which is committing any crime in a place one is not permitted to be. In each case, there was a forced entry into a fenced area.

PSE had restored power to all affected customers by mid-afternoon Monday. The utility declined to answer questions about the outages or property damages, but it said that it was working with authorities.

“PSE has extensive measures to monitor, protect and minimize the risk to our equipment and infrastructure,” PSE spokesperson Andrew Padula said in an email.

TPU’s outage map showed that it had restored power to more than 660 customers who had remained without it Monday. The utility deferred questions to a previous public statement and the Sheriff’s Department.

Meanwhile, Moss said the department continues to monitor other substations in the county and has alerted other law enforcement jurisdictions to do the same. He also urged members of the public to call authorities if they witness any suspicious behavior near electrical facilities.